Apple Offers '12 Days of Christmas' Giveaway in Britain, Not US

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Apple Offers '12 Days of Christmas' Giveaway in Britain, Not US

iPod owners in Britain have something else to look forward to this holiday season: an iTunes music giveaway that offers account holders a free download for each of the 12 days starting December 26, from a selection of tracks.

A French retailer indicated that the promotion would happen there as well, and German has also been mentioned as possibly venue for the giveaway. And someone registered the United States domain "iTunes12DaysofChristmas.com" on November5 through a San Francisco firm.

Update: However, an Apple spokesman told Wired.com on Thursday afternoon that the "12 Days" giveaway will not extend to the United States. (Music is licensed regionally; the giveaway is the work of "iTunes SArL," a wholly owned Apple subsidiary that runs the iTunes store in Europe.)

"For 12 Days of Christmas, we've delved deep into our catalog to pull out some real treats for the holiday season," reads a note on the site. "Check back here every day for rare singles, exclusive live tracks and free music videos from some of the biggest artists in the world today." The site will also offer free "classic TV episodes" for iTunes users to choose from.

iTunes tends to experience a big sales bump after the holidays, as new iPod owners and gift card recipients flock there to stock up on music, videos, podcasts and now applications for their iPods. But market penetration being what it is, there are likely fewer first-time iPod owners each year. By giving people one song each day and showing them or reminding them how easy it is to buy songs once you have your account set up, Apple could put some first-, second- and third-time iPod owners in the habit of going to iTunes for music.

Some have linked the 12 days of Christmas promotion to a removal of digital rights management from all songs in the iTunes store. Indeed, afew major label albums have popped up in French iTunes, but we have yet to see solid evidence that the remaining three major labels are going to allow Apple to sell their music without wrapping it in DRM anytime soon.